A Western Pennsylvania District Council of Carpenters, composed of delegates from the various AFL Carpenters' locals in the region, was first formed on July 12, 1887. Seven locals including Locals 142, 164, 165, 177, 180, 211 and 230 were represented. J.D. Hughes was chosen as the first President of the Council, and it was decided that additional locals (Local 185, Sharpsburg; Local 246, Beaver Falls; and 288 Homestead) would be invited to attend future meetings.
A twelve-hour day, six-day week was characteristic of the carpenters' and other trades in the 1880s. The District Council, under the leadership of Hughes and the first Business Agent, August Swarz, succeeded, through negotiations with the contractors, in establishing a ten hour day and a five and a half day work week (half day only on Saturday). During the turbulent 1890's, characterized by a severe economic Depression, the AFL chose the Carpenters to spearhead the movement for an eight-hour day. After a prolonged struggle, the eight-hour day with four hours of work on Saturday was secured; wages were simultaneously increased, from $2.25 per day (in the 1880's) to $2.75 per day, one of many such augmentations over the years.
The Carpenters also took the initiative in the creation in 1901 of the Pittsburgh-area central AFL labor council, known as the Iron City Central Trades Council (later the Pittsburgh Central Labor Union).
William J. Kelly, a leader as business agent in the District Council during the 1910's, was an important figure on the Pittsburgh labor scene for many decades. He was chosen President of the Iron City Central Trades Council in 1909-1912. William A. Crissman was President of the District Council in 1922-23, 1925-26 and then for twenty-one years uninterruptedly from July 1927 through June 1948. While the President and other District Council officers were elected by the delegates of the various locals, the business agents, who dealt with day to day problems and were responsible for building up the organization, were elected by the membership.
The District Council met on the first and third Tuesday of each month. In the early years, the meeting place was the Arnfeld Building, 1119 Penn Avenue, where the Business Agent also had his offices. When the Union Labor Temple was built on the corner of Webster Avenue and Washington Place, the District Council moved its offices there in 1910. A further relocation took place in May 1925 to what was called the Carpenters Building, 1241-1243 Fourth Avenue.
In the period covered by these records, the boundaries of the District Council were greatly enlarged. In 1960, fifty-four locals in twenty-nine counties in western and central Pennsylvania belonged to the District Council.
The minutes of the Western Pennsylvania Regional District Council of Carpenters provide a running account of the activities of the Carpenters regional organization and shed light on the doings of constituent locals, business agents and organizers. The minutes focus primarily on relations with contractors, conflicts of jurisdiction among the trades, the training of apprentices, penalties for violation of work rules, and the persistent struggle of the Carpenters to better the lot of their membership through negotiation or, if deemed necessary, strikes against recalcitrant employers.
The early minutes of the District Council, to 1918, are mainly handwritten. The later ones (after 1922) either printed or typed and mimeographed. The minutes of Local 142 1886-1888 are handwritten, as is the Delegate Roll Book (1957-1975).
Note: There are several gaps in the minutes, the largest being post-June 18, 1918 to pre-September 5, 1922; also, January-March 1943 and September 1950.
No restrictions.
Permission to microfilm records given by the Western Pennsylvania Regional District Council of Carpenters, 1996
Originals retained by the Western Pennsylvania Regional District Council of Carpenters.
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Western Pennsylvania Regional District Council of Carpenters Records, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1887-1975, AIS.1996.12, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Western Pennsylvania Regional District Council of Carpenters Records, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1887-1975, AIS.1996.12, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Records of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Western Pennsylvania Regional District Council of Carpenters, Pittsburgh, PA, 1887-1975, UE/Labor 96:12, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
This collection was processed by Archives Service Center Staff in 1996.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Dan Horvath on May 20, 2004. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Voyager ID number: 4355308
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
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